At the Hollywood Forever Da de los Muertos, families carry on an L.A. tradition of more than 50 years

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Set us as preferred On Saturday, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery held its 27th annual Día de los Muertos event — where tens of thousands gathered at the Los Angeles landmark for the largest celebration of the holiday anywhere outside of Mexico.The gathering carries on a distinctly Angeleno legacy.The modern-day interpretation of the holiday was pioneered by the Eastside nonprofit Self Help Graphics & Art, which hosted its first Día de los Muertos public celebration in 1972.

Since then, the holiday has become an L.A.fall staple.While Mexico and other Latin American countries traditionally celebrate on Nov.

1 and Nov.2, a litany of Día de los Muertos festivities fill up the Southern California calendar beginning in early October.

That extended timeline abuts the tail-end of Hispanic Heritage Month, with both celebrations having deep ties to the Chicano movement of the 1960s and ‘70s, when U.S.Latinos began loudly and proudly embracing their cultural backgrounds, while fighting for social justice and equality for all.Just as the Chicano movement welcomed new interpretations of Latinidad, the emergence of Día de los Muertos events has welcomed alternative spins on the holiday.

But core to every observance is the celebration of life and the honoring of the dead.Each year, more than 100 families camp out all day at Hollywood Forever.Potlucks, tents, folding chairs, coolers and generators fill the spaces between the graves, as people construct altars in tribute to their deceased loved ones.Altar builders are given a theme each year to guide them in their assembly, with the 2026 iteration being “All Under One Sky.”Día de los Muertos is an opportunity to honor the life and legacy of those who have passed — including beloved pets.

The Mexican tradition will be in full swing across Southern California around the end...